A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) - John Grisham Page 0,197

argued a lot, though, right from the beginnin’. Mom wanted us to be a real family, you know, do things together. Have supper, go to church, things like that, but Stu couldn’t stand us. He didn’t want us. Nobody has ever wanted us.”

Pitch-perfect, thought Jake, and with no objection from Dyer. He wanted to pounce and object to the leading questions, but at the moment the jurors were captivated and would resent the interruption.

“Were you physically abused by Stuart Kofer?”

Drew paused and looked confused. “What do you mean by ‘physically abused’?”

“Did he hit you?”

“Oh, yeah, I got slapped around a few times.”

“Do you remember the first time?”

“Yes sir.”

“What happened?”

“Well, Stu asked me if I wanted to go fishin’, and I really didn’t want to because I didn’t like him and he didn’t like me. But my mom had been buggin’ him to do something with me, you know, like a real father, throw a baseball, go fishin’ or something fun. So he got his boat and we went to the lake. He started drinkin’ beer and that was always a bad sign. We were in the middle of the lake when a big fish hit my hook hard and took off. I was surprised and didn’t grip the rod fast enough, and so the rod and reel disappeared underwater. Stu went crazy. He cussed like a dog and slapped me twice in the face, hard. He was out of his mind, yellin’ and cussin’ and sayin’ that rig cost him over a hundred dollars and I had to pay him back. I thought he might knock me out of the boat. He got so mad he cranked the engine, flew to the ramp, got the boat out, and headed home. He was still cussin’. He had a terrible temper, especially when he was drinkin’.”

Dyer finally stood and said, “Your Honor. Objection. Leading and relevance. I’m not sure what’s happening here, Your Honor, but this is a direct examination and this witness is being allowed to ramble on forever.”

Noose removed his reading glasses and chewed on a stem for a moment. “Agreed, Mr. Dyer, but this testimony is coming in regardless, so let’s allow the witness to testify.”

Jake said, “Thank you, Your Honor. Now, Drew, what happened as you were driving home from the lake?”

“Well, when we got close to the house, he kept lookin’ at me and saw that my left eye was swollen where he’d hit me. So he told me not to tell my mom. He told me to say that I slipped and fell as we were loadin’ the boat.”

Dyer stood and said, “Objection. Hearsay.”

“Overruled. Continue.”

Jake had instructed him to immediately continue when the Judge said “Continue.” Don’t wait on the lawyers. Finish the story.

Drew said, “And then he threatened to kill me.”

“Was that the first time he threatened you?”

“Yes sir. Said he would kill me and Kiera if we ever told Mom.”

“Was he physically abusing Kiera?”

“Well, we know it now, I guess.”

“Okay, Drew, before he died, did you know that Stuart Kofer was sexually assaulting your sister?”

“No sir. She didn’t tell me.”

Jake paused and checked some notes on a legal pad. The courtroom was quiet, but for the window units. The temperature was improving as a layer of clouds moved in to block the sun.

Jake stood beside the podium and asked, “Drew, were you and Kiera afraid of Stuart Kofer?”

“Yes sir.”

“Why?”

“He was a tough guy with a bad temper, a mean drunk, and he had plenty of guns, plus he was a deputy and liked to brag that he could get away with anything, includin’ murder. Then he started beatin’ Mom and things just got so bad…” His voice trailed off and he dropped his head. He was suddenly sobbing and shaking as he fought to keep his composure. A painful moment passed as everyone watched him.

Jake said, “Let’s talk about the night Stuart died.”

Drew took a deep breath, looked at his lawyer, and wiped his cheeks with the back of a sleeve. Because he and Kiera had been so thoroughly prepped, their stories matched perfectly until they reached the critical point when they found their mother unconscious and apparently dead. From then on, they were not thinking clearly and certainly couldn’t remember their exact words and movements. Both were crying and at times hysterical. He remembered moving around the house, looking at Stuart on the bed, looking at Kiera holding Josie on the kitchen floor, listening to her as she begged her to